Symbian, the most popular smartphone mobile operating system worldwide, is going open source, part of a struggle between hardware and software companies for influence in a critical industry segment. The move is sure to affect businesses exploring ways to push more applications onto smartphones, and it could influence the role of open source software generally.

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, is driving the plan. Already a 48% stakeholder in Symbian Ltd., Nokia is buying the company’s remaining shares for $410 million and pledges to make Symbian open source under the royalty-free Eclipse Public License. Symbian’s development–including continued twice-a-year new releases–will be guided by a foundation supported by an alliance of mobile device manufacturers, chipmakers, and carriers.

For businesses, the move raises several critical issues. On the upside, it’s possible companies will wind up with cheaper phones–the Symbian OS today costs manufacturers about $4, while Microsoft charges about $15 for Windows Mobile per phone. A free mobile OS could ramp up price competition. On the downside, IT departments could face a tougher battle trying to contain the number of smartphone platforms they’re asked to support, if open source leads to more variations of the Symbian OS.

Perhaps more important to businesses is whether an open source Symbian leads to more applications and faster innovation for smartphones, at a time when companies are exploring whether and how to push more tasks through ever-more-powerful smartphones. By 2010, when Symbian goes open source, the evolving mobile development community will gain deeper access to Symbian and, in theory, be able to create more compelling applications.

“What it really means is that we’re at an early stage of a full-scale war for becoming the next development platform for mobile devices,” says Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, which guides Linux development by employing key developers and setting standards.

The goal of Nokia and its allies is clear. “We want to make this the most widely used software platform on the planet,” says John Forsyth, Symbian’s VP for strategy. The new alliance, called the Symbian Foundation, includes Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, AT&T, and Vodafone. Those companies likely won’t give up their use or support of other mobile operating systems such as Windows Mobile, but Nokia’s move puts new pressures on Symbian’s competitors.

Smartphones are the industry’s plum growth market, and Symbian commanded 67% of the worldwide market share last year, according to research firm Canalys. However, Symbian has less than 10% share in the United States, where Research In Motion, Microsoft, and now Apple set the agenda. It also has just 6% of the market for lower-end phones. Among the major U.S. carriers, only AT&T even offers any Symbian devices, while Sprint, Verizon, and Alltel can’t even offer them since theirs aren’t GSM networks.

In banding together, handset makers are making it clear that they don’t want a repeat of the PC industry handing over their destiny to American software makers, where Microsoft and recently Google, with its plans for an open source Android operating system, look formidable. In addition, given broad membership that encompasses chipmakers as well as handset producers, the alliance could solve thorny standards issues that often result in incompatibilities between networks and devices.

Nokia N95 Review

Hello and welcome to my Nokia N95 Review. The Nokia N95 is one of the new phones from Nokia’s newest series, the N series. The Nokia N95 is one of the most amazing phone arround.

The N95’s main functions are: Internet (Not Vodafone Live, The actual internet, Surf Yahoo, Youtube, Google, eBay etc). Built in GPS (Let it find you on the map and search for where you want to go, it will guide you there! If you want to go to a resturant type it in and it’ll tell you the closest 1 and how to get there!) 5 Mega-Pixel camera (Take the Sharpest, Quality Pictures and videos with this baby). MP4 Player (Import the hottest tracks or video’s around on to this bad boy or download them off youtube ON THIS PHONE’S INTERNET APPLICATION!).

The N95 has a 2.6″ (6.5cm) 26K TFT DISPLAY to capture in everything! The N95 comes with a 256MB memory stick but can be changed to hold more MP4’s, images or Videos. The keyboard and screen are slideable.

Thanks for viewing my Nokia N95 Review.

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YouTube Hits The Iphone

Yes it’s true YouTube Hits The Iphone. Youtube will be available on Apple TV. View and Download YouTube Clips off AppleTV straight onto you Iphone.

This upgrade was released today which means it’s now available for you to use! Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that “iPhone delivers the best YouTube mobile experience by far,now users can enjoy YouTube wherever they are – on their iPhone, on their Mac or on a widescreen TV in their living room with Apple TV.”

On the go or in bed people can download and watch their favourite youtube video’s off their Iphone Mobile. The video’s are free to view and download.

Thanks for reading my article on YouTube Hits The Iphone.

If you have any questions, updates or want to start a conversation on my article for YouTube Hits The Iphone please type them bellow. View my article on the Apple IPhone Review

Apple Iphone Review

Hello and welcome to the Apple Iphone Review article. The Apple Iphone is the deffinately the most amazing phone on the market at the moment (On my point of view). You can surf the internet (Modified version of Safari Web Browser) on a wider screen than other phones. Download and watch videoclips off YouTube. Check all your mail. A modified version of Google Maps to see where you are. An optimized version of the Mac OS X.

The Iphone has a 2.0 Megapixel camera to take the sharpest photos and videos. The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in. The iPhone will include a Visual Voicemail feature in conjunction with AT&T Mobility.

the Apple Iphone is a touch screen 8.9 CM (3.5 inch ) liquid crystal display (320×480 px at 160 ppi) touch screen topped with optical-quality glass. Obiously play’s MP3’s (why would it be able to download songs off youtube then? lol) The Iphone also has 3G and has a retail cost of: 4 GB model for US$499 and an 8 GB model for US$599.

Thanks for viewing my Apple Iphone Review.

P.S. If you have any questions for this Apple Iphone Review please state them bellow. Also if you have any updates to share for this Apple Iphone Review please state them bellow.

YouTube in 7 Additional Languages

Yes YouTube, recently sold to Google for $1.6 BILLION, yes that’s right 1.6 Billion Smackers has added 7 additional Languages to the site. YouTube is a Free video clip site where you can view video clips, upload video clips and add comments on video clips. YouTube will create 7 sites dedicated for those languages.

YouTube in 7 Additional Languages — the 7 additional languages are French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Polish and Dutch — of which all will feature local language home pages, videos, rankings, searches and comments, as well as partners like Rai, the Italian broadcaster, the French magazine Glamour, V2 Music in the Netherlands and Real Madrid, the Spanish soccer team.

Sony PlayStation ‘Father’

Steps Down

Sony PlayStation ‘Father’ Ken Kutaragi was the Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s chairman and group chief executive stepped down on the 19th of June.

56 year old Ken Kutaragi helped Sony get into the console market in the mid-1990s with the Super NES CD. Kutaragi pushed the Sony market to produce their own device. Sony gave Ken the support to create the Playstation which was released in1994. Because of the success of the Playstation pushed Ken up into bigger projects such as the Playstation 2 and the new Playstation 3 being the new release of Sony.

The commercial success of the Playstation franchise makes Sony Computer Entertainment the most profitable section of Sony. Sony Computer Entertainment earned Sony 65% of it’s income at one stage. Ken decided to step down due to being in the industry he started for too long.

The Electric

Confectionaries

The Electric Confectionaries won the 200Smokefreerockquest held annually in New Zealand. The members were all from Takapuna Grammar with Haddon Smith (keyboard), Jaisi Sheehan (lead guitar and vocals), Rob Fenton (drums) and Calum Gunn (bass guitarist).

The Electric Confectionaries recieved the following prizes:

Vouchers for musical equipment to the value of $10,000 from NZ Rock Shops and other suppliers

Recording a song at York St Studio

Air play on The Edge

A NZ On Air grant to produce a music video.

All My Love by The Electric Confectionaries was and is their main song which was recorded and played on The Edge.

The Electric Confectionaries are currently on tour with a well know New Zealand band Evermore and Australian band Thirsty Merc. They started touring yesterday and will have finished on the 29th of this month.